Many clothing drop boxes are for-profit ventures rather than charitable ones

Discarding clothing in one of the dozen drop boxes planted at several Ionia County retail store parking lots won't necessarily benefit a local charity, as some bin messages imply.

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By Rosemary Horvath Special to the Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Ionia Sentinel - Standard-Ionia, MI

By Rosemary Horvath Special to the Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Posted Dec. 30, 2012 at 2:21 PM
Updated Dec 30, 2012 at 2:46 PM

By Rosemary Horvath Special to the Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Posted Dec. 30, 2012 at 2:21 PM
Updated Dec 30, 2012 at 2:46 PM

IONIA COUNTY, Mich.

Discarding clothing in one of the dozen drop boxes planted at several Ionia County retail store parking lots won't necessarily benefit a local charity, as some bin messages imply.

Instead, your donation will be part of a global textile industry organized by companies set up for profit. Only a fraction of the money earned – if any – is donated for cancer, childhood disease or breast cancer research, or a local charitable cause.

Discarded clothing and shoes support a billion dollar for-profit resale industry with little to do with philanthropy, says Randy Slikkers, executive director at Goodwill Association of Michigan.

Slikkers coordinates policy and legislative issues for 10 independent Goodwill programs statewide, including Goodwill Industries of West Michigan, and has dogged sources behind the clothing bins for years.

While Goodwill Industries and other groups export excess textiles, whatever proceeds they collect help finance local programs, he said. Slikkers helped spur passage of legislation in 2010 introduced by then-District 100 State Rep. Goeff Hansen, now Republican Senator of District 34, representing Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana and Mason counties.

Hansen's chief of staff Peter Wills said the legislation's language was crafted, "hoping to minimize any unethical behavior," except he added, "there are not enough employees to track every unattended box" to ensure boxes post information clarifying donated clothing is collected by for-profits.

BOX CLUTTER

Ionia County isn't alone in its proliferation of drop boxes. Ionia City Manager Jason Eppler and Berlin Township Clerk Mark Adams both said their municipalities have no restrictions for the drop-off boxes that are set up on private property.

The city of St. Johns in Clinton County outlawed boxes in city limits. The city of Westland, a Wayne County suburb west of Detroit, initiated a novel approach.

According to public service director Kevin Buford, Westland city officials saw drop boxes of all types and sizes accumulating throughout the city. The city adopted an ordinance regulating size and appearance and partnered with the Detroit-based City Recycling Center business responsible for the boxes. City Recycling Inc. is a subsidiary of Mid America Export, a wholesaler of used shoes, new shoes (store return and closeout shoes), second hand and used textile recycling industry.

Its Website states the company ships large quantities of trailers/containers per year throughout the world from warehouses in Detroit and Miami.

"Companies dropped containers off willy-nilly," Buford said. "Nothing was offered to the city and there was no incentive program. Now we have uniformity and the revenue we collect goes into the sanitation fund."

Westland permits the boxes exclusively from City Recycling, and all bear the city logo and city's curbside recycling message. Buford could not estimate the amount of revenue the city has earned, explaining the program has not operated a full 12 months. Municipalities in Washington State, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, New Jersey, to name a few, alert the donating public by requiring boxes carry printed messages to the effect that donated items will be sold and after expenses charity receives a guaranteed fixed monthly revenue.

Page 2 of 2 - But donors may pay more attention to the words in large letters such as "Cancer Research" or "Childhood Disease Research."

BETTER KNOWN PROGRAMS

Mel Trotter Industries, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Love Inc., World Mission, Goodwill Industries and other agencies with a presence in Mid and West Michigan have felt the pinch competing with the for-profits that conveniently place their drop boxes near gas stations, big box stores and grocery stores.

Slikkers consider the for-profit boxes an "absolute threat to legitimate charities that bring good to the local community."

Many of the named charities are "absolutely illegitimate and fraudulent," he said. Planet Aid had its charitable status revoked by the federal government after its leadership was indicted.

Slikkers would like to see current legislation strengthened with additional penalties.

"The bill only went so far to say bins had to be marked," he said. "There is absolutely no enforcement. We believe the law did not go far enough."

Mel Trotter Industries have placed a few large clothing bins in outlying areas of their thrift stores.

One is at Rick's Market on M-44, another at Greenville Hardware and another at the back door of the Belding thrift store. Greg Alvesteffer, vice president for retail operation, oversees five stores run by Mel Trotter Industries.

Store proceeds get funneled back into Mel Trotter programs such as shelters for men, women and children. The organization has a food pantry, substance abuse recovery program and offers evening and holiday meals.

"Our donations are definitely down from a year ago," Alvesteffer noted, adding this can be due to the competing drop boxes and to donations for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

He foresees abundance of the for-profit drop boxes will impact donations brought directly to Mel Trotter stores over the long run.

"People ought to read the information on the boxes and be aware where the donated clothing goes. All our proceeds stay in west Michigan, but people see a drop box and believe they are making charitable donations. They need to look for a box that represents a local charity."

Alvesteffer said competing bins have been around for five years or more, but only over the last 18 months has "the number of bins exploded."

Availability makes donating easy, he said especially when gas prices surge and people don't want to drive out of their way. Organizations such as Goodwill and Mel Trotter export their excess textiles or clothing that are not salable. Textiles are compressed into bales for added value and shipped overseas.

"Money from that still stays in West Michigan," Alvesteffer stressed. "Exporting clothing is not a bad thing, but where are the proceeds going?"